Themes of The Lord of the Rings

Since the publication of "The Lord of the Rings" by J. R. R. Tolkien, a wealth of secondary literature has been published discussing the literary themes and archetypes present in the story. Tolkien also wrote about the themes of his book in letters to friends, family and fans, and also in the book itself. In his Foreword to the Second Edition, Tolkien said that he "disliked allegory in all its forms" (using the word "applicability" instead), and told those claiming the story was a metaphor for World War II to remember that he had lost "all but one" of his close friends in World War I.

Antitheses

"No careful reader of Tolkien's fiction can fail to be aware of the polarities that give it form and fiction,"Flieger, Verlyn. "Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World." 2nd ed, Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2002. p. 2] writes Verlyn Flieger. Tolkien's extensive use of duality and parallelism, contrast and opposition is found throughout the novel, in hope and despair, knowledge and enlightenment, death and immortality, fate and free will. One famous example is the often criticized polarity between Evil and Good in Tolkien. Orcs, the most maligned of races, are a corruption of the mystically exalted race of the Elves. Minas Morgul, the Tower of Sorcery, home of the Lord of the Nazgûl, the most corrupted Kings of Men, directly opposes Minas Tirith, the Tower of Guard and the capital of Gondor, the last visible remnant of the ancient kingdom of Men in the Third Age.

The antitheses, though pronounced and prolific, are sometimes seen to be too polarizing, but they have also been argued to be at the heart of the structure of the entire story. Tolkien's technique has been seen to "confer literality on what would in the primary world be called metaphor and then to illustrate [in his secondary world] the process by which the literal becomes metaphoric." A famous description of this device is Verlyn Flieger's "Splintered Light" where the mythology of the Elves described in "The Silmarillion" is seen not only to be the story of the fall of the Elves from grace (a Fall akin to the Fall of Satan or Adam and Eve) due to the hubris of Fëanor in his deadly oath regarding the Silmarils and all that follows as a result of it, but also a story built on a simultaneous splintering of light from the light of creation and the splintering of Elvish language from the word of creation, Ëa. Although, these arguments are more readily seen in "The Silmarillion," which contains the Creation Myth of the Elves, similar observations can and have also been made regarding "The Lord of the Rings".Fact|date=September 2008

Power and temptation

The theme of power in "The Lord of the Rings" centres around the corrupting influence of the One Ring. This theme is discussed at length by Tom Shippey in chapter III of . In this chapter, titled, "The Lord of the Rings (2): Concepts of Evil" (pp 112-160), Shippey notes that what lies at the heart of the story is the assertions made by Gandalf about the power and influence of the One Ring, and the corrupting influence it has on its bearers. Gandalf rejects the Ring after Frodo offers it to him, and this view of the nature of the Ring is reinforced as Elrond and Galadriel in their turn, also reject the Ring. This is, according to Shippey, a very modern, 20th-century theme, since in earlier, medieval times, power was considered to "reveal character", not alter it. Shippey mentions Lord Acton's famous statement in 1887, that "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men..." He then goes on to point out authors that were dealing in the same themes of power and corruption at around the same time as Tolkien wrote his work. These authors include George Orwell with "Animal Farm" (1945), William Golding with "The Lord of the Flies" (1954) and "The Inheritors" (1955), and T. H. White with "The Once and Future King" (1958).

Critics of Tolkien's use of this theme include Colin Manlove, who addresses the theme in his book "Modern Fantasy" (1975). Manlove points out that Tolkien is not consistent in his attitude towards power, for there are exceptions to the supposedly overwhelming influence of the Ring. The Ring "can" be handed over relatively easily (Sam and Bilbo), and removing the Ring by force (Gollum to Frodo) does not, despite Gandalf's assertion at the beginning of the story, break Frodo's mind. The Ring also appears to have little effect on characters such as Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. Shippey counters this by characterising the use of the Ring as addictive, with successive uses increasing the hold the Ring had over its bearers. Those who are not susceptible to the addiction would not be affected.

Death and immortality

Tolkien wrote about "The Lord of the Rings" and death in his "Letters":

:"But I should say, if asked, the tale is not really about Power and Dominion: that only sets the wheels going; it is about Death and the desire for deathlessness. Which is hardly more than to say it is a tale written by a Man!" (Letter 203, 1957)

: "It is mainly concerned with Death, and Immortality; and the 'escapes': serial longevity, and hoarding memory." (Letter 211, 1958)

Throughout the story, death is referred to as the "gift (and doom) of Man," given by Ilúvatar (God), while immortality is the gift given to the Elves. The Elves never die of old age and are resistant to disease and such, though they can be slain in battle or die by similar means; however, even when they die they only go to the Halls of Mandos in Aman, and eventually can be "reincarnated" into life. As such they are bound to the world, and as a result they wane in prominence, and can grow weary of the world and wish to escape it. In contrast, Tolkien leaves the fate of Men uncertain; this leads to some form of fear for Men, who do not understand what truly happens at death and thus fear it as a result.

Throughout the "Lord of the Rings" (and related Middle-earth works), humanity dealing with death is prominent. The desire to escape death is shown to lead to evil—the Rings of Power promising immortality to Men, yet in the process turned them into Ringwraiths, undying but not truly living either. The people of Númenor, though blessed with life longer than that of most humans, envy the immortals and try to conquer Aman from the Valar, leading to the destruction of the land. The Elves, too, struggle with their lot, and their immortality shows them watching the decline of their lands and world.

Fate and Free Will

Gandalf in one scene discusses the possibility that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and that Gollum has an important part to play, the clearest testament to the role of fate in "The Lord of the Rings." Beyond Gandalf's words, the story is structured in such a way that past decisions have a critical influence on current events. For instance, because Bilbo and Frodo spared Gollum, Gollum was able to destroy the Ring when Frodo fails to do so.

The role of fate in "The Lord of the Rings" is contrasted sharply with the prominent role also given to choice and free will. Frodo's choice to bear the Ring to Mordor is seen to be an act of will central to the plot of the whole story. Equally important is Frodo's willing offer of the Ring to Gandalf, Aragorn, and Galadriel, and their willing refusal of it. Thus, free will as well as fate is seen to be a constant theme throughout the story: from old Gaffer Gamgee's wheelbarrow to Arwen Evenstar's choice of mortality.Cite book | author=Isaacs, Neil David; Zimbardo, Rose A. | authorlink= | coauthors= | title=Understanding The Lord of the Rings: The Best of Tolkien Criticism | date=2005 | publisher=Houghton Mifflin | location= | isbn=978-0-618-42253-1 | pages=58-64]

Loss and farewell

From the beginning of Tolkien's mythos, there has been a consistent theme of great beauty and joy failing and disappearing before the passage of time and the onslaught of the powers of evil. In "The Silmarillion", Melkor uses his powers first to destroy the works of his fellow Valar and as this ultimately fails he uses his ally Ungoliant to destroy the Two Trees that gave the blessed land of Aman its light.

Fëanor, prince of the Noldor, first loses his father and then his greatest creations, the Silmarils, through the machinations of the evil Morgoth. By his fault Elven blood is for the first time spilled on the ground of Eldamar and the Noldor give away both their home and their innocence. Mandos, the Doomsayer himself, proclaims judgement over the Noldor and reveals to them that none of them shall find peace or rest until their oath has been fulfilled or their souls come to the House of Spirits.

Finally, in one of the appendices to "The Return of the King", after nearly two hundred years of life Aragorn dies in his deathbed, leaving behind a lonely and now-mortal Arwen, who travels to what is left of Lothlórien to herself die on a flat stone next to the river Nimrodel, having returned to one of the few places of true happiness she knew in her life.

This theme is seen in the weight of the past borne in the language of the whole novel [Hannon, Patrice “The Lord of the Rings as Elegy” Mythlore 24: 36-42] and in specific portions, such as Gilraen's linnod [Straubhaar, Sandra Ballif. “Gilraen’s Linnod: Function, Genre, Prototypes” Tolkien Studies 2: 235-244. (2005)] and the Lament of the Rohirrim. [Cunningham, Michael. “A History of Song: The Transmission of Memory in Middle-Earth” Mallorn 43: 27-29 (2005)]

Christ figures

Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn: Priest, prophet, king

In fact, Frodo Baggins, Gandalf, and Aragorn each in a remote way embody one of the three aspects of Christ’s ministry as priest, prophet, and king. Each also undergoes a kind of sacrificial "death" and rebirth. It should be remembered that the author disliked allegory and stated on several occasions that this was not his intention.

The priestly role belongs to Frodo,Fact|date=September 2008 and he is the sacrificial lamb of Middle-earth who bears a burden of terrible evil on behalf of the whole world, like Christ carrying his cross.Fact|date=September 2008 Frodo’s "via dolorosa" or way of sorrows is at the very heart of Tolkien’s story,Fact|date=September 2008 just as the crucifixion narratives are at the heart of the gospels accounts. As Christ descended into the grave, Frodo journeys into Mordor, the Land of Death, and there suffers a deathlike state in the lair of the giant spider Shelob before awakening to complete his task. And, as Christ ascended into heaven,

He carries the burden of the Ring as Christ carried the burden of sin. He too is a living sacrifice. Frodo's wound on Weathertop is a figurative of Christ's spear wound on the Cross. Note that the wound on Weathertop is inflicted by the Witch-king, another Satan figure. Frodo's voyage to the west, like Gandalf's, is also symbolic of the Ascension. It doesn't take a biblical scholar to feel some similarity between Frodo's struggle to carry the Ring up Mount Doom and Christ's struggle to carry his cross to Calvary. By the time Frodo reaches Mount Doom, he is so weighed down by the power of the Ring and despair over its destruction that Sam carries him and the Ring up the path to the Crack of Doom — shades of Simon the Cyrenian bearing Jesus' cross to Golgotha. Any parallel, intentional or not, between Frodo and Christ ends when Gollum attacks Frodo on the path in their second-to-last encounter.

Samwise Gamgee is Christ the servant.Fact|date=September 2008 He is the "friend that sticks closer than a brother". He makes himself a living sacrifice as he aids Frodo. He is the meek one who inherits the earth (in this case, the Shire).Fact|date=September 2008

Gandalf is the prophet, revealing hidden knowledge, working wonders, teaching others the way. Evoking the saving death and resurrection of Christ,Fact|date=September 2008 Gandalf does battle with the powers of hell to save his friends, sacrificing himself.

The One Ring is a symbol of sin.Fact|date=September 2008 It is the Forbidden Fruit that everyone wants; the "Precious" thing that no one who has it wants to give up, yet it enslaves and destroys anyone who has it. It is no coincidence that the Ring was made by Sauron, the main Satan figure.Fact|date=September 2008

References

*Dickerson, Matthew. (October 1, 2003). Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral Victory in The Lord of the Rings, Brazos Press. ISBN 1-5874-3085-1.
*West, J.E. (Ed.). (2002). Celebrating Middle-Earth: The Lord of the Rings As a Defense of Western Civilization. Inkling Books.
*Rosebury, B. (2003). Tolkien: A Cultural Phenomenon. Palgrave.